2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Laura Fidler)
When you become a regular at your local cafe, it becomes more than just a place to eat - well that's certiainly true at The Garden Coffee Shop and Diner in Essex, which the owner describes as a home from home . Jackie Newbury, inspired by her own traditional childhood dinners, opened the café which offers a selection of classic hot food. Everything about the café is warm and comforting, where diners can find a place to enjoy nostalgic hot food, and even have a shoulder to cry on.
Their most popular meals regularly sell out but the café serves up more than just food, with laughing, dancing, and crying also on the menu. Turning up for their customers, the café regularly campaigns to raise money for charities, close to their hearts. The Garden Coffee Shop and Diner is now in the running to be named the best café in Essex.
EssexLive readers sent in nominations for the second-ever EssexEats awards and The Garden made it onto the shortlist. We’re now profiling each pub, restaurant, café and takeaway on the shortlist. We’re finding out their story, what they have to offer and why they think they deserve your vote.
READ MORE: The 3 restaurants named the best in Essex as search for winner begins READ MORE: : The best restaurants, cafés, pubs and takeaways in Essex named After bad experiences working elsewhere, Jackie shares that her husband supported her decision to open up a place of her own, just before Covid. Jackie told EssexLive: “I absolutely love what I do. I was built to do it.
It’s all I’ve ever known”. The Garden Coffee and Diner was a place where she could work with family, and build a family of customers, who really know the cafe very well. Jackie says: "Definitely liver and bacon is my best seller, as well as the haddock and salmon.
It’s old school. Most of our menu is my childhood dinners. Traditional comfort food.
I still love those dinners today, but with liver and bacon we always sell out.” Jackie says: “We know our customers. They know our story.
We started off very small, and we didn’t know our customers. Now, we go to funerals, weddings, they came to our wedding. We’re very family oriented, we know everyone.
We’re a community.” Jackie shares that they have seen people through difficult times in their lives, and that their customers go to the cafe not just for the homecooked food, but the conversation. She says: "They're not alone”.
Jackie says: “Because we are. We just are. Have you seen Fawlty Towers? I kid you not, my husband is like Manuel.
He’s always cracking a joke. It’s hilarious, it’s carnage in our coffee shop. We laugh, we cry, we dance.
We do everything together. There’s nothing that our customers haven’t seen in our lives. They are part of our journey.
They were there when our grandchildren were born. It’s just a big extended family. Our customers are beautiful, beautiful people.
We’re very lucky. We wouldn’t be anywhere without them. We do a great job, but we couldn’t do what we do without them.
It’s a very relaxed environment. It’s home from home. You’ve got to be there to know what it’s about”.
The Garden Coffee Shop and Diner can be found at Damyns Hall Aerodrome, Aveley Rd, Upminster RM14 2TN . Opening times are Monday- Sunday 9am-4pm - for more information visit www.facebook.
com/TheGardenCoffeeShopDiner You can vote for your favourite café now from our shortlist using the form below or by clicking here..
